NFL Team Defense Stats 2016

You are likely here to determine what defense to target against, or are trying to find a stingy defense worthy of deploying for fantasy purposes. Defenses might be strong against one aspect of an offense, or both, or even none. Reading through last year's defensive stats can help you grasp on where you should be looking to exploit a defense. For example, New Orleans ranked as the worst defense in 2015.

Totals Allowed

Passing Allowed

Rushing Allowed

Takeaways & Penalties

Rank

Team

Points

Yards

FPTS / Gm

Yds

TD

Y/A

Yds

TD

Y/A

TO Forced

Int

Fum
Rec

Pen
Yds

1

Seattle Seahawks

277

4668

57

3364

14

5.8

1304

10

3.6

23

14

9

795

2

Cincinnati Bengals

279

5453

64

3976

18

5.8

1477

8

4.3

28

21

7

1063

3

Kansas City Chiefs

287

5269

65

3698

25

5.7

1571

7

4.1

29

22

7

941

4

Denver Broncos

296

4530

59

3193

19

5.1

1337

10

3.3

27

14

13

773

5

Minnesota Vikings

302

5510

69

3762

24

6.2

1748

7

4.3

22

13

9

875

6

Carolina Panthers

308

5167

64

3752

21

5.4

1415

11

3.9

39

24

15

822

7

Houston Texans

313

4963

64

3366

24

5.6

1597

10

4.1

25

14

11

991

8

Arizona Cardinals

313

5147

66

3687

24

6.1

1460

9

3.9

33

19

14

1202

9

New York Jets

314

5098

65

3763

25

5.9

1335

4

3.6

30

18

12

767

10

New England Patriots

315

5430

69

3852

24

6

1578

8

4

21

12

9

1013

11

Pittsburgh Steelers

319

5809

74

4350

29

6.5

1459

6

3.8

30

17

13

1199

12

Green Bay Packers

323

5547

68

3642

20

6.1

1905

13

4.5

22

16

6

1107

13

Los Angeles Rams

330

5885

70

4065

21

6.4

1820

7

4

26

13

13

992

14

Atlanta Falcons

345

5562

68

3882

19

6.7

1680

20

4

23

15

8

728

15

Buffalo Bills

359

5702

73

3972

30

6.4

1730

10

4.4

25

17

8

906

16

Dallas Cowboys

374

5567

71

3636

19

6.8

1931

16

4.2

11

8

3

900

17

Washington Redskins

379

6090

77

4128

30

6.8

1962

10

4.8

27

11

16

955

18

San Francisco 49ers

387

6199

78

4179

21

7.2

2020

20

4

12

9

3

920

19

Miami Dolphins

389

6019

79

4000

31

7

2019

13

4

16

13

3

1005

20

Chicago Bears

397

5527

74

3593

31

6.6

1934

9

4.5

17

8

9

895

21

San Diego Chargers

398

5791

74

3786

22

7

2005

17

4.8

20

11

9

976

22

Oakland Raiders

399

5818

76

4140

25

6.1

1678

12

4.1

25

14

11

943

23

Detroit Lions

400

5597

77

3789

27

6.6

1808

18

4.2

19

9

10

785

24

Baltimore Ravens

401

5398

75

3737

30

6.4

1661

10

4

14

6

8

748

25

Indianapolis Colts

408

6066

79

4114

29

6.6

1952

14

4.3

25

17

8

1168

26

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

417

5446

76

3840

31

6.6

1606

12

3.4

23

11

12

862

27

Tennessee Titans

423

5475

77

3678

34

6.8

1797

11

3.9

19

11

8

982

28

Philadelphia Eagles

430

6426

84

4273

36

6.4

2153

10

4.5

26

15

11

1049

29

Cleveland Browns

432

6067

81

4012

34

7.4

2055

11

4.5

21

11

10

833

30

New York Giants

442

6725

86

4783

31

7.2

1942

15

4.4

28

15

13

1077

31

Jacksonville Jaguars

448

6000

81

4291

29

6.7

1709

15

3.7

18

9

9

989

32

New Orleans Saints

476

6615

93

4544

45

7.9

2071

12

4.9

22

9

13

887

You may notice a theme here, but the top eight ranked defensive teams all made the postseason. Defensive stats may often be just a small pitstop in your research, but keeping this info locked in will come in handy. There were extremes in 2015, such as targeting against a team like the New Orleans Saints every chance you had. They allowed a 4.9 yards per attempt (Y/A) to opposing running backs, which had fantasy owners gushing when their running backs played the Saints. They also allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing teams, and were in the bottom as a pass defense too. This stayed consistent for 2015, and will have some stock when 2016 gets going. While there is turnover in the NFL that will cause bottom offense to become a bit more average, there will only be a handful that truly turn tides.

For the most part, fantasy points allowed will stem from bad defenses. On some occasions it will not. A lot has to due to time of possession, and overall play style. Atlanta had a very average defense at best last season, but allowed the 9th fewest fantasy points per game to opposing teams. Pittsburgh on the other hand ranked 11th in defense, yet allowed a healthy 74 fantasy points per game to opposing teams, which was in the middle of the league. Quick scoring and shootouts were a trend with the Steelers, which was why fantasy points were at a premium against Pittsburgh in 2015.

Passing and rushing stats on an individual basis is good measure for opposing running backs and quarterbacks. Yards per attempt is a good stat to get a gauge of how a team moves the ball against their defense. New Orleans allowed 7.9 yards per attempt, which went hand-in-hand in their passing defense. Denver allowed just 5.1 yards per attempt, as they boasted the best pass defense in the league. The same goes for running backs, and seeing how efficient they can be against a rush defense. We will stop picking on the Saints, and look at San Diego, who allowed 4.8 (Y/A). This is a great prediction for opposing backs, especially if they can meet that number. These are all in addition to overall touchdowns allowed, which is standard by position.

If you are looking for a fantasy defense, you are searching for two things — turnovers and points allowed. Carolina and Arizona led the league in turnovers, and were among the highest scoring fantasy defenses. Teams that feast on turnovers also give their offense more shots to produce points, which is good for you. A team like the Jets benefitted from collecting 30 interceptions + fumble recoveries, as it pushed their offense into scoring more points. Given opposing points count against you, the standard points allowed is a base for a fantasy defense. The turnovers look to give you that extra upside.

Overall a team defense can give you a glimpse of possible game strategy for opponents, as well as overall game-flow. Tough run defenses might force a team to throw more, or vice versa. Turnover opportunistic defenses can give their offense a few extra positions. There is a lot more to it than just simple defensive stats.